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October 23, 2015

The inaugural Aberdeen
International Curling Championship will take place on the 25-27th March
2016 and will be a fitting finale to the Goldline Scottish Curling Tour
2015/16. The event is expected to attract a world class field to Aberdeen in
order compete against our top Scottish men.

The Goldline Scottish Curling
Tour is pleased to announce that Scottish mens teams featuring on the GSCT
leaderboard prior to the event may be eligible to apply for 50% discounted
automatic entry to the Aberdeen International Curling Championship.

To be eligible
each team must have met the following criteria*:

1.Have competed in a minimum of four GSCT tournaments during
the 15/16 season (prior to The Aberdeen International)

2.Be ranked in the top 10 mens teams on the GSCT leaderboard
2015/16 following the penultimate tour event (the Aberdeen City Open).

3.Have received no
direct funding in respect of entry fees from the Scottish and British Curling
programme for season 2015/16.

*Please note that in the event of
over oversubscription the discount will be limited to the highest placed 4
teams on the GSCT leaderboard.The GSCT would like to thank
British Curling and Curl Aberdeen for providing this sponsorship and looks
forward to an exciting end to the season’s curling calendar in Aberdeen.

Team Whyte trying to apply the pressure to force the one or pinch another and tie the game.
Bobby Lammie here playing a hack weight on the top blue to roll behind cover well executed. Whyte drop the centre guard to try and make the force of 1.

Over in the other Semi Final team bryce engineer a chance for 2 to tie the scores but just come up short with the last draw.

Mouat's team are giving nothing away here and at one point were lying 4. The Whyte team are fighting hard to get things going and with some great play managed to blank the end.

3 - 0 after 3.

Bryce v Hardie

End 3 some some great drawing shots by both teams and some interesting tactical discussions from both teams.

Some 10 stones were in the 8ft or closer when it came to the skips shots. With both skips facing very technical shots to engineer a favorable out it really could have been make or break for the game.

Cameron played a nice hack weight with his first, followed by Grant also playing a hack weight that just rolled behind the cluster of stones leaving Cameron with a 1/4stone clear on the shot stone which just flicked his own stone on the way past. This left Grant a more difficult shot than the previous end for his two. A nice draw to the button tied the the game at 2-2 after 3ends.

End 4

Team Hardie really starting to apply the pressure with some good shot making and forcing the small errors from team Bryce. Cameron Bryce was faced with an in-off from the wing to remove two counters from the button. This was a great attempt by Cameron making contact with the shot stone but just unable to generate enough force to remove it from shot. A steal of 2 turns the game around and Team Hardie take the lead for the first time in the game.

Meanwhile across in the other semi-final team whyte had managed to get some good shot positioning in the 4th end but just could not get the Mouat counter of the edge of the button to score the two or three they were looking for and Mouat pinched a single. Team Whyte are still in this game but will hope to score in the 5th.

Some good games continued an enjoyable week end. Certain games were extremely tight and it all came down to the last stones of the game to decide who would win. Certainly competitive curling was seen this afternoon and will lead to an exciting quarter finals which can be seen on live stream from the DIBCA web site after 7.30 pm.

SHEET A – MACLEOD V WHYTE

Whyte had the hammer and the first two ends were blanked.

The third end saw a change with guards remaining and Whyte lying three in the 8 foot. Macleod’s 3rd went to lie against the back shots but was a bit heavy and left himself open however a light shot drew and he hit and rolled off his own shot to guard the opposition. After the opposition removed a guard Whyte elected to draw up to the opposition shot stone and his 3rd duly obliged.

Macleod played an aggressive draw on to the last played stone but it nicked a guard and lay to the front of the 8 foot. Whyte hit and rolled out off that shot leaving the opposition to consider their options with their last shot. Some enthusiastic brush movements tended to indicate the different opinions but the only shot was a draw onto the top of the opposition which he duly did. A power shot from Ross saw him strike the opposition on the side and kinetic forces worked and he ended up with a 2.

The 5th saw Macleod take a 2.

The 6th end developed until Ross played his last stone past a good guard to push the opposition stone out and lie a bundle. The opposition conceded at this time.

Sheet B – LILL V BRYCE

Bryce stole the 1st end and Lille took the 2nd end – both got singles. Bryce then went on to take a 2 in the 3rd.

The 4th saw guards out front and a great shot from Bryce’s 3rd saw a takeout leaving him lying three at the front of the 8 foot and then they just traded shots until Bryce’s take out was light and caught and moved the guard giving a chance to Lill. They did not capitalise on this and they took out their own stone. The result was that Bryce took advantage and went on to take a 1.

Lille however came back in the 5th and took a 2 to tighten the score to 5-4.

The 6th saw Bryce’s Zack Stewart take a nice double and lie at the front of the 12 foot. Lill was still shot in the 4 foot and drew another into it behind the guards. Bryce elected to raise his front shot and it did not contact as much as he wanted but he still removed one of the opposition stones. Lill did not have the hammer and the lack of guards was not helpful to his options.

Lill drew another red to the back of the 4 foot and Bryce tried for the double but only got one and reduced the opposition to 1.

Moving to the end of the 7th saw Bryce lying shot in the 4 foot just in front of a red and a further guard was well placed to protect the centre stones. Lill played to draw to the centre but it stayed a bit high and provided Bryce the chance to hit and roll and lie shot. Some considerable time was spent in exploring the options open to Lill who elected to raise his own stone to the centre. It nearly came off but perhaps a little too much weight saw it nicking a guard but the stones still lay in a position they could be raised to the centre. Bryce saw this danger and asked Zack for a guard which he duly provided and provoked further debate on options and angles. Lill played what appeared a great shot to raise his guard but a nick and a wick saw a further blue spinning into the centre 4 foot. Bryce placed his shot as a guard and forced Lill to play heavy weight up the centre which was well played and his shot spun quickly and straight right to the centre but it still left Bryce shot. With one end to go Bryce looked for more shots but his shot was of no effect – he still got a 2.

The 8th and last end saw a very long Lill guard followed by a further one. A centre Bryce stone was then ticked to the edge of the 12 foot at 9 o’clock. Lill called either a guard or draw round but it fell just short. This last played shot was ticked off and Lill persisted with the out hand draw which was well done through great sweeping. Bryce’s Zack Stewart just skinnied the opposition stone enough to remove it. A b of it tit for tat took place with shots being dawn and the removed. Bryce run Lill out of stones to win the game.

SHEET C – HAMILTON V POUGHER

Hamilton took the 1st against the hammer and stole the second. Pougher however got a 3 in the 3rd to go 3-2 up.

The 4th and 5th ends saw each team take a one and playing the 6th the score was also tight at 4-3.

A striking 6th end resulted in Hamilton hitting and rolling out and Pougher blanked the end.

The 7th saw Hamilton lying 1 in the house but there were a mixture of stones in the 8 foot and for spectators it was unclear who was 2nd. Hamilton put a longish guard on the centre and Pougher then went for a hit and roll on an outside stone but his weight must have been down as he crashed the guards allowing Hamilton to take a 1 and the game was drawn going into the 8th but Pougher had the hammer.

The last end saw some good shots but Pougher was faced with drawing against a two with his last shot and whether tight or light the game went to Hamilton.

SHEET D - SLOAN V TAYLOR

Taylor took 2 in the 1st and 3 in the 3rd while Sloan only managed a 1 in the 2nd.

SHEET E HARDIE V HOWAT

Hardie had the hammer and started strong taking a 3 in the first and 2 in the second. Howat was unfazed by this and took a 1 in the 3rd.

The 4th saw Hardie stones scattered about the house and Howat elected for damage reduction going for a double take out which was well played. Hardie however took a 2 in that end and then a 4 in the next which saw them shaking hands

October 17, 2015

Some
changes to the rinks being played as the ladies were in an extra end.

Rink
A -- Howat v Sloan

Howat
with the hammer got a 1 in the 1st
but Sloan won the 2nd
and 3rd
ends to go 4 up.

A
single in the 5th
for Howat was followed by Sloan taking a 2 in the 6th.
Following a single in the 7th
Howat conceded

Rink
B Mouat v Hardie

Mouat
appeared to be running away with this game with the score 7- 2 in his
favour after 3 scoring ends.

David
managed to stop the rot by getting a 2 in the 4th
however the game was conceded going into the 6th
end with a 10 – 4 score line.

Rink
D – Macleod v Pougher

Macleod
had the hammer and took the 1st,
3rd,
4th
and 5th
ends while Pougher only took the 2nd
and leaving a score line of 6 – 2.

Although
both teams were playing good shots in the 6th
end there was a lot of granite in the 8 foot and only one of these
was a blue of Pougher. A red guard on the front made Pougher’s
opportunities less and his effort to go round the guard failed.

With
a score line of 8 – 2 for Macleod the game was ended.

Rink C Bryce v Hamilton

Bryce
with the hammer took a 2 in the fist and after a blank2nd end
Hamilton took a 1 in the 3rd.

In
the 4th
end Hamilton played a light hit and roll to get into the 4 fott
behind some guards. Bryce played a heavy shot which resulted in
some clearance but when everything stopped moving Hamilton found his
two shots remaining in the house and both on the centre line.
Hamilton put a nice guard on and Bryce was left with a difficult shot
through a port of two guards. He got it well and while he removed
one blue stone the other was left to give Hamilton a steal of 1.

Bryce
took a 2 in the 5th
to go 4-2 up .

The
6th
saw a different end develop with not much being left in the house.
Bryce took a 2 and the game was finished 6 -2 for Bryce.

Rink
F Lill v Whyte

A
blanked 1st
end was followed by Whyte taking the 2nd
and 3rd
ends to go 3 – 0 up. A blank in the 4th
was followed by Whyte getting a 2 in the 5th
and 1 in the 6th
which saw the end of the game.

October 16, 2015

Hamilton v Whyte late starting due to extra end earlier on
that ice pad. The game was conceded in the 5th
with a score of 3. Final Score 7-2 score in favour of Whyte.

Hamilton
took a 1 against the hammer in the first end and Whyte took a 2 in
the 2nd.

The
3rd
end was a blank but the 4th
saw a lot of granite in the 4 foot. A big raise from Hamilton saw
the guards move and the shots in the head scattered but leaving Whyte
in a good position and after changing positions with the only yellow
stone he was lying 4 - but lots of options for Hamilton.

A
big shot saw Hamilton rink take a double but the shooter spun round
and lay to the back of the Whyte front shot. Whyte’s shot hit
good and he was left with three well-spaced shots. Graham Black
playing Hamilton’s last two stones played a lovely draw to the 4
foot to take a shot.

Playing
the 5th
Whyte was 4-2 up with the hammer against him. With 8 shots played
there were guards up and Hamilton’s shot in the centre 4 but a
well-played shot between the guards saw Whyte now claim the 4 foot
for himself.

Some
tactical shots saw Whyte having to move the front opposition shots
and the danger of jamming his own did not happen. He took further
shots that end and this saw the game conceded.

Bryce v Pougher was late starting due to the extra end in the
ladies.

Bryce
and Pougher took singles in the first four ends but Bryce took a 5 in
the 6th
to go 6-3 up.

A
further single for Bryce in the 7th
saw the score 7-3 in his favour.

Mouat v Howat

The
local Dumfries Junior squad lost a 4 against Mouat in the 1st
and a 2 in the third but clearly not disheartened they got a 1 in the
4th
and the 2nd
was blank.

The
game was conceded in the 6th
end

Lill v Macleod

Macleod
with the hammer started off in a spirited fashion taking a 3 and Lill
could only respond with a 1 in the 3rd
following a blank 2nd
end.

By
the 6th
end all was square and Macleod had the hammer but he had one lying
against him. A very heavy shot saw him looking for a wick off his
own shot to take the opposition out but he found a space to go
straight through. The end finished with Lill scoring 1 and a
further 1 saw Lille 5 -3 up in the 8th. Macleod tried a difficult double for 3 in the 8th and missed by the finest of margins to allow Lill to record the win.

Hardie v Taylor. A fascinating game developed between
these two teams and close scoring saw the lead changing. It was
difficult to say who would win and Taylor was unfortunate that when
they got rid of the opposition yellow guard it bounced off an outlying stone
and finished up dead on the centre line behind a guard.
Notwithstanding that bit of bad luck for him - Taylor had the chance
to win the game with his last shot but it fell far short. Whether
there was something amiss with stone is not known but there was no
sign from the team of that having been the case.

Taylor
with the hammer took a 1 in the 1st
and Hardie countered with a 2 in the 2nd.
Each team took their ends when they had the hammer and playing the
5th
they were peals.

Taylor
took a 1 in the 5th
and appeared to be getting the upper hand and was lying two in the
house with guards when the Grant played to the 4 foot and extremely
strong sweeping saw it miss the guard by millimetres and gain
advantage by a few centimetres.

Taylor
took very little ice and a little tap and the kean ice saw him move
the yellow into 2nd
place. Grant played the same shot again but a touch lighter saw
the sweepers give up when it stopped on the 8 foot.

Going
to the 7th
saw Hardie 2 shots down and after a few shots it appeared Taylor had
the high ground again even although Hardie was lying shot. Grant
played a lovely draw shot to the edge of the 8 foot and Taylor then
hit and rolled out of the other Hardie yellow. Grant then played
to draw a second shot and again the Kean ice allowed the sweepers to
take the stone into the rings but this time to score.

All
square going into the 8th
and Taylor has the hammer.

Hardie
placed a guard at 6 o’clock; Taylor elected to draw to the 12 foot
at 3 o’clock but is stayed straight and ended up touching the 12
foot at 6 o’clock; Hardie looked to lock on to the opposition but
it fell short behind his 1st
guard; Taylor elected to split his front shot but Chay Telfer’s
stone caught the guard and stones were replaced; Hardie elected to
draw to the centre but that shot caught a guard – the played stone
remained in play about a metre or so outside the rings at 4 o’clock;
Taylor elected to remove the guards with success; Hardie drew another
yellow guard which Taylor removed however this yellow struck the
previous yellow guard sitting at 4 o’clock and bounced back in and
lay to the back of the button and guarded – get Grant to put a
lottery ticket on!. Another guard by Hardie was removed by Taylor
but his shooter was now another guard on the centre; Hardie played
another guard and again Taylor moved to get rid of these and this
time he had good fortune and removed every guard there was.
Hardie’s guard was right of centre and offered Taylor an
opportunity but his shot caught the guard leaving Hardie to decide on
his last shot placement.

Hardie
played his shot and it came to rest as a guard in the 12 feet.
Taylor elected the draw to the centre however he was very light of
weight and Hardie won the game.

The
first games of the ladies Section saw Aitken v Murray and
Jackson v Ward

A
spirited display by all players resulted in both being tight games.

Aitken
and Murray were pealed going into the last. Aitken had last shot
and needed to draw to the 4 foot to beat the opposition – good
judgement and sweeping saw her do this.

Jackson
had a two shot lead going into the 8th
however Ward evened up the game forcing an extra end.

Jackson
had the hammer and like Aitken needed to draw to the button to win
and on / off sweeping caused some concern for those watching from
afar, but Jackson’s crew got the shot there to win with pin point accuracy.

In
the 1st
two ends Murray took a 2 and a single to go 3 up and Gina got a
single in the 3rd.

The
4th
saw two yellow guards but with two blues in the 8 foot. Aitken’s
3rd
– Rowena Kerr played a lovely long raise on one of the guards
straight onto the oppositions centre stone. This was countered by
the opposition 3rd
– Naomi Brown who removed it and there were now 3 blues. Then
Aitken 3rd
again played a nice shot and hit and roll to the shot. Murray
caught a guard trying to remove the shot yellow. Aitken then drew
the front of the 4 foot with her 1st
shot and Murray elected to hit and roll which she got well – coming
to rest guarded and beside the opposition yellow. Aitken just fell
short with her centre draw leaving Murray the opportunity of taking
out the other yellow however we are not sure what happened with the
played stone but Murray only took a one.

The
5th
end saw Aitken take a single and as we watched the end stones in the
6th
saw Rowena Kerr draw a lovely shot between some guards to tap her own
shot back. Murray’s 3rd
quickly played and took off a guard and Aitken drew her 1st
shot to the front of the 4 foot. The double was on for Murray’s
shot if the angles were right but they were not and the hit shot
jammed and stayed in the 4 foot. Aitken needed to draw to the 4
foot which she did and Murray elected to draw the 4 foot. The
sweepers were quickly on the stone but to not avail and Aitken
claimed her 3 to go 1 up going into the 7th.

The
7th
saw lots of stones in the house and some guards but as the skips went
to play, Murray was shot and guarded. Aitken elected to play a
long guard and cleared a road for her next shot. Murray played a
nice guard and left Aitken to play an angled raise using her shot in
the 4 foot to remove the two opposition stones. There was no
screaming or raised voices and the shot sailed up the ice and she did
her job – removing one opposition stone but apparently not lying
shot herself. Again Ward looked to draw the shot but despite the
efforts of the sweepers she did not make her 2nd
shot and the score was now pealed going into the last end with Aitken
having the hammer.

Going
into the last 7 stones the house was empty but when Aitken went to
pay her last shot she had a pressure shot to get to the 4 foot or
lose the game. Some spirited sweeping and good judgement saw her
take the game.

Ward
took a 1 in the first and their play was not as fast as the other
game. Sophie Jackson was left to play her last shot for a draw to
the 4 foot to save one if not two shots. This was a tight shot as
the opposition were just to the centre of the front of the 4 foot –
however Sophie showed a cool head and drew the shot to save the end.

The
3rd
end saw many shots in play and Ward had a line of 3 stones in the
centre guarding her single shot in the 8 foot at 6 o’clock.
Jackson’s 2nd shot was a bit light and came up short of the 12
foot. Ward then drew the 8 foot and got her two.

As
the bloggers stopped for food the next three ends were recorded only
by the Ward coach and the score board. So the 4th
and 5th
went to Jackson and as we move the final shots into the 6th
we have Jackson 4 – 3 up.

Playing
her first shot Sophie was faced with two opposition stones counting
and deep guards in place. A nicely drawn shot to the 4 foot
however was still there to be moved however Ward’s stone was
slightly fast and never drew giving Jackson a steal and the score is
5- 3 in her favour.

When
Sophie went to play her 1st
shot the only one in play was a red touching the button. This
ended up in the 12 foot and left Ward playing a nice weight and
nearly got the double. Jackson hit the opposition out and left Ward
having to play the centre stone however she rolled out leaving a
blank end, Jackson with the hammer and 2 up.

Ward
was not giving up and half way through she was lying two in the
centre and an outer guard. Jackson played the guard and it angled
to the centre and removed the two opposition stones. Ward played
into the house and allowed Jackson the opportunity of a raised double
which nearly succeeded.

Shots
later Ward was lying with stones either side in the 8 foot and a wide
double by Jackson nearly paid off. Ward again played a guard and
Jackson made to remove the only blue – the shot however went
through a gap that surely was too small for it. Ward drew another
shot to the back of the 12 foot.

Interest
in the other game resulted in the next shot being missed however
there was no change in the head. Sophie hit and rolled out with
her last shot and Ward redeemed her earlier shots by drawing for a
two and the game going to an extra end.

This
end saw 9 shots played and Sophie in trouble with two blue in the
house and guards out front. Although she cleared one shot in the
house a guard was quickly in place again. Jackson played this off –
perhaps also looking for a hole to the shot stone. Ward’s first
stone was a nice guard and Sophie removed it. Two shots to go –
Ward’s 2nd
stone was again a good guard and Sophie elected for the draw to the 4
foot to win the end.

Some
on and off sweeping caused concern about the flight of the stone and
this was not helped by Sophie and the 3rd
showing hand signs it may be too heavy however good playing by Sophie
and good judgement by the sweepers and the 3rd
saw the stone come to rest on the button.

Really
the four ladies teams all played some great shots and made some great
judgement calls which it is hoped will give us a good weekend ahead.

The
first end saw Mouat taking a 2 but Taylor took singles in both the
2nd
and 3rd
rounds. This close game was burst open by Mouat taking a 4 in the
4th
to go 6-2 up.

Taylor
took the 5th
and 6th
end with two singles but Mouat got a single in the 7th
and Taylor got a 3 in the last to leave Mouat as winner by a single
shot.

Hardie v Sloan

A
very quick end saw Sloan take a 1 against the hammer and then
straight into the second end.

With
some shots in the house and out front, Andrew Murray played a nice
raised strike which took out the yellow centre stone. This however
was countered and going into the skips stones Sloan faced three
yellows in a nice line in the house. Graham’s strike nicked the
guard and Grant and his third had some debate on their options.
Grant’s play resulted in him opening up his front stone but still
lying four. Graham’s second shot saw him clearing two of these
and Hardie drew to take a 3 in the first.

The
game see sawed after that with Hardie taking a 3 in the 2nd
but a blanked end in the 3rd
allowed Sloan to draw for a 3 in the 4th.
Grant came back and took a 3 in the 5th
but Sloan then took a 1 in the 6th
and the game was 6-5 in Grant’s favour however there were two ends
to go and both skips are tacticians.

Hardie
took a 1 in the 7th
and going into the 8th
the score was 7-5 for Hardie. The 8th
never finished and was conceded when Grant lifted a double and run
Sloan’s team out of stones.

Bryce v Whyte

Having
the hammer allowed Whyte to take a 3 in the 1st
and the 2nd
end saw Whyte facing 2 reds with his last shot but he only took one
of these allowing Bryce to take a 2.

Whyte
took a 1 in the 3rd
but Bryce countered with a 2 in the 4th.
With the game tied it was open to both but the 5th
saw Whyte take 2 in the 5th
when Cameron’s hitter rolled out leaving Ross the draw. The 6th
saw Bryce having a clear house facing his last stone and he chose to
blank the end and going in to the 7th
Whyte is 6-4 .

In
the 7th
end Bryce took a 2 off Whyte and we moved into the 8th
end with both teams tied.

In
the last end good guards provided by Bryce’s team saw Whyte
knocking these off until with the last shot of the game he was faced
with three Bryce stones around the 4 foot but still there was an
opportunity to hit and roll to the centre and win the game however
the stone stayed straight and the result was it rolled out leaving
Bryce the winner.

Pougher v Lill

Lill
took the 1st
end and Pougher won his end but after that he stole singles in the
next three ends so going into the 6th
it was 4 -1 for Pougher.

Lill
tightened the score by getting a 1 in the 6th
and in the 7th
Pougher countered by another single and the game finished with a
score line of 6-2 for Pougher.

Hamilton v Macleod

A
blank 1st
end was followed by MacLeod taking a 1 in the 2nd
and Hamilton a 1 in the 3rd.
The teams were winning the ends they had the hammer on but a 3 in
the 4th
saw MacLeod having a 4-2 advantage going into the 6th.

A
further 3 by Macleod saw the score 7-2 in their favour and the game
was conceded.

Next
games for the men are 8 pm and so far the ladies went on only 15
minutes later than expected. Early reports are the ice was running
well with good draws.

On Completion of each game teams are playing two LSD to determine hammer for the following game and also for ranking if required to determine the qualifiers to the 1/4finals